ACR 93, as introduced, Buchanan. Prescription Drug Abuse Awareness Month.
This measure would proclaim the month of March 2014 as Drug Abuse Awareness Month in California, and encourage all citizens to participate in prevention programs and activities and to pledge to “Spread the Word ... One Pill Can Kill.”
Fiscal committee: no.
P1 1WHEREAS, There were more deaths caused by drug overdoses
2in 2010 than traffic accidents among people 25 to 64 years of age;
3and
4WHEREAS, In 2010, drug overdoses in the United States of
5America caused 38,329 deaths and 22,134 of those deaths were
6from prescription drugs; and
7WHEREAS, In 2011, an estimated 22.5 million Americans 12
8years of age or older used an illicit drug or abused a prescription
9drug in the past month; and
10WHEREAS, In 2009, 1.2 million emergency department visits
11were related to misuse or abuse of pharmaceuticals, an increase
12of 98.4 percent since 2004; and
P2 1WHEREAS, Nonmedical use of prescription painkillers costs
2health insurers up to $72.5 billion annually in direct health care
3costs; and
4WHEREAS, Overdose deaths involving opioid pain relievers
5now exceed more deaths from heroin and cocaine combined; and
6WHEREAS, As many as 70 percent of people who abuse
7prescription drugs get them from a relative or friend instead of a
8doctor; and
9WHEREAS, Americans that participated in the Drug
10Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) seventh National Prescription
11Drug Take-Back Day on October 26, 2013, turned in more than
12647,211 pounds of unwanted or expired medications for safe and
13proper disposal at the 4,114 take-back sites that were available in
14all 50 states and the territories of the United States. When the
15results of all seven Take-Back Days are combined, the DEA and
16its state, local, and tribal law enforcement, and community partners
17have removed 3.4 million pounds of medication from circulation;
18and
19WHEREAS, The National Coalition Against Prescription Drug
20Abuse, the Contra Costa County Prescription Drug Abuse
21Prevention Coalition, the Alcohol and Other Drugs Advisory Board
22in cooperation with the Contra Costa Behavioral Health Division’s
23Alcohol and Other Drugs Services, law enforcement,
24community-based organizations, alcohol and other drug service
25providers, and civic and business leaders coordinate Prescription
26Drug Abuse Awareness Month activities in the County of Contra
27Costa and California to engage our citizens in demonstrating their
28commitment to prevention campaigns and education aimed at
29raising awareness about the abuse and misuse of prescription drugs,
30promoting prescription drug safe storing and disposal, and using
31medications only as prescribed; and
32WHEREAS, Families, schools, businesses, faith-based
33communities, law enforcement, medical professionals, county and
34local governments, health care practitioners, and pharmacists in
35the County of Contra Costa, the state, and the general public will
36demonstrate their commitment to the prevention of prescription
37medication abuse by participating in activities intended to highlight
38local efforts during the month of March; and
39WHEREAS, The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors
40and the Legislature support April 26, 2014, as National Prescription
P3 1Drug Take-Back Day as declared by the DEA, and encourages
2residents to locate their local collection site and safely dispose of
3their accumulated unwanted and unused prescription drugs; now,
4therefore, be it
5Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
6thereof concurring, That the Legislature does hereby declare March
72014, as Prescription Drug Abuse Awareness Month, and
8encourages all citizens to participate in prevention programs and
9activities, and to safely store and dispose of their medication on a
10continual basis, and to encourage all community members to
11pledge, “Spread the Word ... One Pill Can Kill”; and be further
12Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
13of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
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